Last summer, Leeds United felt that a £20 million bid may have been enough force a Championship rival into letting their star man cross the divide and head for Elland Road.
Though, at the time, the decision was made that such a fee was maybe on the steep side.
One year on, with a return to the Premier League inflating Leeds United’s financial muscle considerably a with a stellar individual campaign under his belt, could this be the summer when Gustavo Hamer swaps Bramall Lane for Elland Road?
Lee Hendrie, the former England international who spent two years with The Blades from 2007 to 2009 thinks it might just be.
An attacking midfielder will be a priority for Leeds between now and the start of September, certainly. Krasnodar captian Edouard Spertsyan is keen on a switch to West Yorkshire, but deals for Pavel Sulc of Viktoria Plzen and Alvyn Sanches of Lausanne Sport feel unlikely for rather different reasons.
The Dortmund-linked Sulc is in talks over a move to Germany.
Switzerland star Sanches ruptured his ACL, thus denying him a reunion with former teammate Isaac Schmidt in England.
Hamer, though, is proven in English football, settled in Yorkshire, and would offer the kind of creativity and goal threat Leeds would look for in a new number ten.
Former Sheffield United ace Lee Hendrie suggests Leeds will return for Gus Hamer
Sheffield United rejected Leeds’ £13 million bid back in 2023. If The Whites are now willing to stump up closer to £20 million – and if Chris Wilder cannot find a solution to The Blades’ dismal play-off record – then Jayden Bogle might not be the only member of Daniel Farke’s squad who arrived from the Steel City.
“Obviously, [Leeds] were interested. And, particularly if the Blades don’t go up, I think that is going to be the key factor [in deciding Hamer’s future],” Hendrie tells Football League World.
“He’s a very good player. He has had a lot of clubs that were sniffing around him, even before going to Sheffield United. He’s proven that he has got that X-factor. One of the better players in the Championship arguably, in that position anyway.
“You feel that Leeds may look at him, and feel that he could be a good addition to them. I think he could be, for sure.”
Hamer was named the 2024/25 Championship Player of the Year at the weekend’s EFL awards.
Scorer of nine goals and provider of seven more, the Brazil-born former Eredivisie prospect is a set-piece master who also possesses the fierce determination Daniel Farke looks for even in his attacking reinforcements.
“I can’t really rule out that Sheffield United won’t get promoted,” Hendrie adds. “I’ve just got a feeling that they will. That will be down to Gus Hamer.
“But I’m pretty sure that Leeds will be looking for very similar sort of players that they can attract, probably not with such a big fee. Gus would tick the box for them, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they go for him if [Sheffield United] are not promoted.”
Angus Kinnear explained why Leeds failed to get Hamer last year
CEO Angus Kinnear confirmed Leeds’ interest in Hamer shortly after the close of the summer transfer window. He also admitted that Hamer was on the radar before arriving at Bramall Lane from Coventry City in 2023.
“He was a player who we felt would have significantly improved the team,” Kinnear said.
“Now, the way that transfer worked is we all assumed there was no chance Sheffield United would sell their star player to a promotion rival.
“However, we were given some light. And this is where the market works, through agents, through contacts. They might be open to an offer.
“The only way to provoke the conversation was to make an offer. And we made an offer, which we think was at a fair level. They came back very clearly and said he was not for sale in this window to anybody, and he certainly wouldn’t be on sale to Leeds United and there was no price that could pull him away.
“Once you get that kind of feedback, and you believe in that kind of feedback, then you have to move on. Very simply, Gustavo Hamer wasn’t available for Leeds United in this window.”
Should Sheffield United suffer play-off heartbreak again, however, that stance may soften considerably.
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